It shouldn’t be that much of a surprise that growing your own food carries numerous benefits. First, farming gives you an opportunity to grow the food you like, and how you like it. Second, it turns you from the customer to the provider and gives you a nice career option in this very turbulent times. On the other side, there is no denying that farming demands some education and practice, especially if your local climate is not that generous. This shouldn’t discourage you, though. Here are a few short tips which should help you to make great foundations for your later efforts.
Watering Your Plants
Water usually makes up to 80-95% tissue mass of the growing plants. Nearly 95% of that water is absorbed from soil, so it obvious, that in order to grow, your plants will need large quantities of water. If the area in which you are living is not of abundant rainfall, the duty of watering your plants will befall on your shoulders. Keep in mind that the amount of water and the frequency of the watering will depend on several factors like their position in the garden, variety, and the type of soil.
1. Plant position
Exposing the plants to the sun makes them more “thirsty”. Give more attention to the plants which are exposed to sun longer.
2. Variety
Some plants need more water to thrive after fruiting than others. Those are:
– Carrots
– Cucumbers
– Peas
– Pepper
– Beet
– Squash
3. Soil type
If you are growing your plants on sandy soil, you may need to water them more often and incorporate some organic compost to aid moisture retention. Crops grown on clay soil need watering less often.
You have to be careful while watering your garden because, after a while, the water will damage all your metal and concrete surfaces. Therefore, you should protect them with a strong epoxy coating.
When to Water?
It is very well advised to water your plants in the morning. This way you will ensure that the water will be fully absorbed by the soil, and therefore by the roots too. Watering the plants in the midday sun can shock them and burn their leaves. On the other side, watering at night will attract slugs.
Protecting Your Plants from Pests
Speaking of slugs, by properly watering your plants, you will make a prerequisite for them to grow, but that’s only half the job done. You will also have to make sure that they survive until the harvest. Unfortunately, troubles are coming in various shapes and forms, so it’s very hard to fight them all at once.
Spraying the plants with weed-killers and pesticides seems like the most efficient way for solving this issue, so effective boom sprayers should come in handy. Alternatively, you should try to keep some space between plants to let the leaves dry (it makes spreading of diseases less likely) and mulch your crops. Also, the healthier the plants are, the more resistant to pests they will be.
Keep Your Soil Healthy
As much as you want your plants healthy, you should give the same amount of attention to soil, because if you neglect it, all of your efforts will amount to nothing. Healthy soil is dark-colored and it crumbles when you feel it with your fingers. To keep it in good shape, you should take the next steps:
– Avoid soil erosion
– Add compost to improve your soil
– Apply recommended fertilizers
– Stay off the wet soil
– Use well-drained soil
Just be sure to double-check the number of fertilizers you will use. If you go overboard with them, you may cause serious damage to your plants.
While it is true that practice makes everything perfect, now that you know where you should focus your attention, you are ready to make your first steps as a farmer. If you manage to keep your soil and plants healthy and provide enough water for the latter to thrive until the harvest, you will make a giant leap forward.
